Crane's Asylum
by blueblackangel
Summary: While Dr. Crane goes away on a workshop for doctors, a new inmate is admitted to Arkham Asylum. And just when he thinks he's on top, Dr. Crane returns to set things straight.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: While Dr. Crane attends a week long workshop and seminar, a new inmate arrives at Arkham and forms a small gang within the asylum. Dr. Crane is not pleased when he gets back. (Takes place before Bruce comes back)

Disclaimer: It's called fanfiction for a reason.

Crane's Asylum

"I order that Mr. Richard Jones be transferred to Arkham Asylum for the time being for his own safety. When Dr. Crane comes back, I'll get his assessment and we shall see. Court's adjourned."

And to Rachel Dawes's disgust, the judge loudly banged that damned gavel. Even when Dr. Crane wasn't here, he seemed of having a way of slipping criminals past bars and into therapy. Who knows? Maybe she'll get lucky and Rick (he was annoyingly insistent on being called Rick) will decide that the mad house isn't for him. She eyed Rick's father, the one who insisted that Rick belongs in therapy and not jail. He eyed her back.

Maybe today is not her lucky day after all.

&&&&

Lunchtime. It's day one for Rick Jones in Arkham Asylum, and he has to say that the place is a bit too cheery for an asylum. He knew that the doctor (what was his name? Craig?) was away and that that was the main reason why he was here. He had heard that the doctor could read through anyone, mental or normal. It was kind of creepy, he thought, and perhaps that's why some of the inmates were really happy. Other than the fact that they're crazy of course.

Whoah. He's been here too long already. He's already musing. Shaking his head, he waited in line for lunch behind plenty of crazies.

After getting his lunch, he scanned the room. No empty lunch tables. It's weird, actually. Like high school all over again. But nonetheless, being the 'polite' man that he was, he forced his way to an already full table and made a seat for himself. The occupants (all of them unattractive, Rick notes) looked at him, completely confused.

"Hello, crazies," said Rick, "Don't mind if a normal person sits here, do ya?"

There was a general mumblings of no one minding.

"Great!" exclaimed Rick.

The four other occupants continued to stare, silently, as if Rick were some sort of strange alien from space.

"So," asked Rick, oblivious to the staring, "What do you guys do? I mean, besides see the doctor."

No response.

"Nothing? Do you have free time?"

The group again mumbled, but Rick heard a something like "sometimes."

"So, what do you do?"

Finally, one of the group spoke up, an overweight man with badly cut hair. "Um, sometimes we watch TV, and sometimes we do our exercises."

"Yes," said another man, an older man who spoke with a wheeze. "Dr. Crane said the exercise is good for us."

Dr. Crane! That's the name! "Well, Dr. Crane isn't here right now," said Rick.

Even Rick felt the waves of relief at the table when he made that statement. "You guys don't like him?"

No one answered. Rick sighed, "What I meant is that since he isn't here, we can do whatever we want."

"You do whatever you want," wheezed the older man, "I'm going to listen to Dr. Crane and do my exercises."

"What Dr. Crane doesn't know, doesn't hurt him."

"Is it true?" asked one of the occupants who had been silent. He looked the most normal, but Rick saw a strange glint in his brown eye. "Are you normal?"

"Yes."

The table gasped and shuddered.

"Why? You got something against normal people?"

"You should leave," said the normal-looking one, "And go to prison. It's better there."

"Really?" asked Rick sarcastically.

The one who had not said anything nodded vigorously.

"What do you know?" shot back Rick.

"Um, normal guy?" said the overweight one, "Tom's mute."

Sure enough, Tom smiled a holey smile, gesturing to himself. Rick suddenly felt frustrated. He had come to the table with one goal in mind: to form a gang and self proclaim himself as leader. But, working with crazy people wasn't as easy as he thought. So, with much pondering and contemplating on Rick's part, Rick came up with an idea to at least get themselves acquainted.

"Okay, I've got an idea. We'll go around the table and everyone says their name and what they're in here for."

Nope, Rick is not the brightest bulb out there.

"Well," said the fatter man, "My name's Brad and I'm a manic."

"A manic? How come you're not…manicky?"

Brad laughed at the new word. "Lucky for maniacs, mania is not year-round. It comes and goes, like mood swings."

Rick nodded and turned his head toward the older man. "My name's Steve, and I've got obsessive compulsive disorder."

Rick took a closer look at Steve, and saw that he was a neat freak. Neater than Rick's own mother.

"It's getting better," said Steve, aware that he was under Rick's scrutiny.

"I'm James and I'm depressed," said the most normal one.

"You don't look depressed," pointed out Rick.

"I'm suicidal and I can't sleep," said James.

Brad leaned closer to Rick, "Usually depressed people don't eat or sleep that much." Rick eyed the plate of untouched food and gave him a nod.

"What about Tom?"

"Actually," said James, "I just lie a lot. Um, a pathological liar."

Rick looked to Brad who simply explained, "I like to go along with it. Especially when talking to the schizos during group therapy." Brad laughed. "They believe him every time. Oh, and Tom? No one really knows what's up with him. He doesn't say much. But I think Dr. Crane knows what's up with him."

"Hmm, I'll have to ask," said Rick.

"You never said your name," said Steve, sounding slightly upset.

"Oh, I'm Rick and I'm completely normal. My father and I decided it was best to not go to prison and so my father worked out a deal with asylum and the judge. I'm supposed to stay here until Dr. Crane gives me his official diagnosis."

"That's crazy," said Brad.

"No, it's genius. Places might be unwilling to hire someone who committed a felony, but it is against the law to discriminate based on disability. Well, that's what my dad says."

"What did you do?" asked James.

Rick smiled. "That's for another day."

"So," asked Brad, "What's your big plan for when Dr. Crane's away? What do you want to do?"

"I say," said Rick, "Let's party."

&&&&

It had been remarkably easy to get that table group to follow his lead (well, Steve was harder but that was probably because he depended on Dr. Crane's schedule more so than the rest of them), and he had gotten some other followers as well. Many of his lackeys were literally retarded, but it didn't matter to Rick. He was having too much fun getting away with things that he was certain would land him in solitary confinement in prison. Since Dr. Crane apparently had the final say of who was sent to solitary confinement and other sorts of punishment, and since Dr. Crane wasn't here right now, he could get away with murder, so to speak, in front of the guards' faces and they couldn't do a thing about it.

By his fourth day, Rick had started picking out the weaker inmates of Arkham and they became his source of entertainment.

On day five, he had a gang of fifteen.

Something different happened on day six.

_Author's Comments: Sorry, I sped things up at the end; I just wanted this chapter to end so I could get to the next chapter. I hope this wasn't too boring for you, but I promise next chapter will be awesome! Rick will be there and his daddy and did I mention Dr. Crane as well?_

_Please review! It motivates me!_


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Still don't own it.

Crane's Asylum

Chapter 2

"Dr. Crane! Good to see you back!"

"Nice to have you back!"

"How're you doing, Dr. Cane?"

"Good to see, sir!"

"Good to be back," softly replied Dr. Crane from his office, while never feeling this welcome in his life. When the asylum's employees heard that he was back, they all made a bee line to his office. He figured that something must have happened while he was away. Something pretty big. He even spotted a few disgruntled asylum guards toward the back of the crowd. They usually could care less about the inmates.

"I trust you all to leave me be while I get my office in some semblance of order, but I must ask you…" (He felt his eyes widen as the crowd inched closer) "Did any new inmates arrive?"

A disgusted and revolting expression fell on everyone's faces.

"I believe I know the answer."

A guard from the back pushed his way to the front of the crowd. "Sir, that brat-"

"I want to meet this inmate for myself. I gather that you absolutely loathe him. What's his name?"

"Richard, oh I mean 'Rick,'" answered the guard.

"Rick…Ricky…I suppose I'll meet him at lunch. Is his physique, erm, large?"

"Yep."

"Then, I'll definitely meet him at lunch," said Dr. Crane, privately noting his own rather slim figure.

&&&

It was lunch time and Rick was hungrier than usual, so he took some lunch from some schizophrenics that he often used for 'entertainment.' He noticed something different about the asylum when he sat down. Everyone was acting the same way when he first arrived; something was different. He spotted Brad, Steve, James, and Tom the mute, and waved them over.

"Dude, what's up?" asked Rick once they sat down. "Everyone's acting strange."

"No," said Brad, "I think everyone's acting normal. You see…"

But Rick stopped listening. He noticed that a man, not dressed in uniform was sitting at table in the corner of the cafeteria. The guy looked like he mainly wanted to keep to himself, but Rick couldn't help himself from laughing. The guy was a typical nerd! Small frame, glasses, and books and notebooks! And, what is this…the guy's taking notes! Rick decided to go introduce himself to the newcomer.

"I'll be right back," said Rick.

"Wait! Didn't you hear anything I said?" called Brad to a retreating Rick.

"Nope!" called back Rick.

By the time Rick arrived at the nerd's table, the guy was pretty engrossed in his notes, tapping his pen on his chin and writing some more. He was also dead set on ignoring Rick. Rick, however, was used to the 'ignore the bully' method; it never helped anyone.

"What's ya got there, sparky?" said Rick.

The man ignored him and started eating his lunch.

"Hey, you mind if I have some of that?" said Rick as he reached toward the man's lunch. The man batted his hand away. Apparently, he wanted his lunch.

"Whoah, hungry, huh?"

The man responded by scribbling something in his notebook and then he looked up. For the first time, Rick saw the man's face. It was thin and had a starved look to it, but the eyes, those brilliant blue eyes…Rick had a feeling that those blue eyes were not used to pick up chicks.

"You new?" asked Rick, not losing his nerve in the least.

"No, are you?"

"I've never seen you here before."

"So, you don't believe you're new, regardless of how long you've actually been here." It was statement, not in the slightest bit a question.

"Um…" mumbled Rick. The man smirked and returned to his meal and his notes.

"Look, pal," said Rick somewhat threatening, "I don't think you get how things are run here."

"Oh really? Do tell."

The other man's complete lack of fear started to unnerve Rick. Maybe this guy was a manic and he was in one of those 'moods' like how Brad described.

"I own the place," said Rick.

The man smirked again. He looked as though he would laugh, but he couldn't.

"What's your name, sparky?"

"Jonathan. Yours?"

"It's Rick Jones and you better not forget it."

Jonathan chuckled softly to himself. "You got it Ricky."

"It's Rick, god dammit!" shouted Rick.

"I beg to differ. So, why are you here?"

"Wh-what?" stuttered Rick.

"Why are you here?" calmly repeated Jonathan.

Jonathan's calmness rubbed off on Rick a bit and he settled down. "To get out of some jail time. You?"

"Oh, that's why," muttered Jonathan and he scribbled something in the notebook.

"What's that?"

"Too many questions," said Jonathan, "People will think you've gone mad."

"What's that supposed to mean!"

"Well, you are in a mad house…"

Rick jumped out his seat, leaned across the table and grabbed the man by his collar. Jonathan did not seem concerned in the slightest. Breathing heavily in his face, Rick formed his other hand into a fist and put it in plain view of Jonathan. Jonathan didn't squirm.

"Oh yeah?!" shouted Rick, "Why the hell are you here?! What kind of psycho are you!?"

"I'm not a psycho…"

"Then what?! Trying to get out of some jail time?!

"No…I don't believe I completely introduced myself. My name is Dr. Jonathan Crane."

Rick stopped, and slowly and shakily let go of Jonathan, who smirked at Rick's response. Rick, still shocked, slowly sat down, and looked at Jonathan. "You're Dr. Crane?"

"That's right, Ricky. I thought you said _you_ owned the place."

"I do and it's Rick."

"Do you? Do you really, Ricky?"

"Quit calling me that!"

"Too bad. _If_ you owned the place, you would've gotten me to stop calling you 'Ricky.' But you failed…"

"Shut up!"

Jonathan raised one eyebrow. "Temper, temper. Tell me, do you really think that the asylum is a better place for you than prison?" Rick opened his mouth to answer, but Jonathan cut him off, "What a shame. It does not even matter what you think-"

PUNCH!

Jonathan flew far back from the table and felt his already wounded head collide with the wall. He blinked once and then smoothly turned over and used the wall as a support to get up. It took all his will power to keep his façade calm and confident and not let on that he was in pain or the fact that he could hardly see, because he was extremely dizzy. The rest of the cafeteria watched carefully.

Rick watched in horror as Jonathan stood up, completely unshaken from the hit and the blood pouring out of nose and mouth. He watched as Jonathan slowly made his way back to the table, sit down carefully, and completely ignore the blood.

"Now where were we?" said Jonathan, blinking (he was still extremely dizzy and his head was ringing).

Eyes widening in shock and fear, Rick took another punch at Jonathan.

WHOOSH!

Jonathan had leaned back to narrowly dodge the punch, but at a price. If the dizziness had shown any signs of going away, it was back in full force. Jonathan took one deep breath to steady himself and turned to Rick with blazing eyes piercing straight through him.

"Ricky," began Jonathan (still ignoring the blood) "Are you completely certain that this is where you want to be?"

Rick couldn't answer.

"My employees hate you."

Rick only stared.

"My, Ricky…Are you scared? … You were on top only an hour ago. You _owned_ the place. Now what happened?"

Suddenly, Rick stood up and shouted, "YOU DON'T SCARE ME YOU PSYCHO FREAK!"

Jonathan raised his eyebrows and responded by finally wiping away the blood from his face. "You know," said Jonathan quietly, "I thought you were going to give me a concussion. But you held back…Why?"

Rick sat down and glared at Jonathan. "Shut the hell up," he darkly whispered. Jonathan continued to clean his face. "There's something seriously wrong here."

Jonathan noticed something behind Rick and smirked. "Ricky…you're not going anywhere. You wanted to avoid prison, you got it. Now you're stuck with me. Do you want me to tell daddy or can you handle it?"

"Wh-what?"

"He's right there, at the end of the cafeteria," said Dr. Crane, gesturing behind Rick while still trying to clean his face.

Rick spun around and saw his father walking straight toward them. He stood up as his father reached the table. "Dad! What are you doing here?"

"Well, I heard Dr. Crane was back and I wanted to make sure he saw you."

"I did," said Dr. Crane, "It's so nice to see a concerned father."

"What happened?" asked Mr. Jones looking at Dr. Crane's obvious injuries.

"Nothing of importance," said Dr. Crane, "Just a discussion with some of the inmates. You know how the 'crazies' can be."

"Oh yes, of course," replied Mr. Jones. Suddenly, his features became threatening. "Now about my son…"

"You don't need to worry about him," said Dr. Crane not intimated in the least, "He's in good hands."

Mr. Jones nodded and left as quickly as he came. Dr. Crane smiled at Rick.

Taking swallow breaths, Rick shakily went back to his table with Brad, Steve, James and Tom the mute. It did not escape his notice that the whole cafeteria had been watching and now was watching in pity.

"What happened?" asked Brad.

"I'm stuck here," breathed Rick.

Just then, Dr. Crane walked up behind Rick and lightly tapped his shoulder. He bent down and whispered in Rick's ear, "You are going to receive 'special treatment.'" He laughed lightly. "Get ready to meet Scarecrow." Dr. Crane slid his hand under Rick's chin and forced him to look at him. Dr. Crane smiled again and left the cafeteria with his books and notes.

"Brad?"

"Yeah?"

"What's Scarecrow?"

_Author's Comments:_

_Finished! Yay! It may have been out of character a bit, but I think it still turned out pretty good. Well, I don't have much to say, so please review! _

_Should I do another chapter or shall I leave it open ended for your imaginations to run wild_? (Hah! This forces you to review!)

_Thanks for reading!_


End file.
